Day 91 / Feb 28

Day 91 / Feb 28

            Maybe this mosque explosion wasn't as bad as we thought.  Yes, it brought out hoards of protestors, violent and otherwise, and many many people were killed – a lot of them innocent I'm sure.  But, it also seems to have brought the bad guys out more and inciting them to attack the OTHER bad guys.   Now, there are fewer bad guys out there.  I can't say that that is a BAD thing by any means.  Now that they are out, or have been out, it makes them easier to get.   Kinda like if you kick the ant hill, yes, the ants come streaming out to bite you, but, it sure is a heck of a lot easier to kill them outside than in the hill.   Just a thought.

            The other thing that looks to be coming out of this is showing how good the Iraqi forces are at taking care of major violence.   So far, they seem to be handling it well and have been successful in quelling the attacks without too much of out assistance.  That is clearly a step in the right direction.   Maybe this bombing has brought to the forefront their true, untested ability to take care of their own country.  Now, they KNOW they can do it, and so does everyone else.   Or maybe I'm just optimistic.

 

            In other news, I see that Arizona could be stationing some National Guard troops on the Arizona/Mexico border.   Well, I'll be.  Go figure.  Using the National Guard to guard the nation.   What a novel concept!  Its about damned time!  Personally, I think that's ALL the National Guard should do, take care of the homeland – borders, emergencies, etc.

 

            I got some more mail today!  Three more boxes from my lovely wife and one from my mom.  Ahh, mail is good.

Day 90 / Feb 27

Day 90 / Feb 27

 

            Ahh the big 90.  Only ten days til the real big 100.   Triple digits… has it been that long already?  It seems like only yesterday (90 times).

            Today started like any other, went to a meeting where most of what was said was blah blah blah blahdblah blah.   But, during that meeting, we discovered that this tester for some of our convoy equipment wasn't working.  No biggie, there was another tester on the FOB.   I sent the guy over there.

            So anyway this next story goes back a day or two to Saturday night when the BN CSM came down to our CP and asked us to pick up a .50 cal machine gun from the FOB we were going to the next day.   He gave us the paperwork and everything – should have really been no big deal.  So, I hand off the paperwork to the driver of the first truck with explicit instructions to pick it up and then I go to bed (because its about midnight – BN never feels the need for prior planning when it comes to them, but WE have to plan out 48 hours).

            The patrol left on time on Saturday (in the morning) and I was still sleeping… no big deal.   It wasn't my patrol.  It came back – without the machine gun.  Oh well, miscommunication strikes again.   The driver thought someone else was picking up the paperwork AND the gun.

            Fast forward to Monday when BN calls up on the radio (after I was just down there for my meeting) and asks if we got the machine gun.   I tell them – "no, we didn't get it, sorry."  Seconds later the CSM calls up (from the same place) and asks the same question!   Clearly, he was RIGHT THERE when I told them the first time, but being very patient, I tell him the same thing – "nope, we [still] didn't pick it up [since you called five seconds ago!], sorry."   [Leave out the part in the parenthesis to see what I really said]  Then he goes and asks, why?  Well, I didn't have a good answer yet, so I told him I'd find out when my patrol got back – just to buy some time.   The patrol really wasn't gone yet… but it also wasn't right there either.  The CSM made sure to tell me that he expected to be informed of why we didn't get his machine gun as soon as the patrol got back.

            Not long after that my OPS NCO comes storming (Yes, STORMING) into the CP red faced and jabbering about how is so pissed!, hate that guy!, hope he gets blown up! – and on and on.   After we calm him down (a little) he tells us about his run in with the CSM just a few minutes ago.  He said that he went down to BN very prepared for the CSM and his tendency to be nit picky.   He wore his eye protection and his gloves and even wore his seatbelt for the 5mph drive.  Well, too bad for him, the CSM was apparently not happy with my response on the radio – even though it was professional and polite and measured.   The CSM proceeded to grill him about the machine gun (which he knew absolutely nothing about) and when he told him so, that just made the CSM MORE angry.   So, my OPS NCO waited around inside when the CSM went outside, hoping he would go away and giving him plenty of time to do so.  No such luck.

            Once my guy went outside and went to his truck (the same truck I had taken down there just minutes before he took it), the CSM stopped him and told him he had to walk back to the CP (about ½ mile) because his windshield was dirty!   Well, lucky for my SSG he had water and some wipes on him to clean it with (thinking ahead).  So, he drove back fuming about the CSM yelling at him for something he knew nothing about.

            The CSM went out on a patrol and we debated what to tell him when he got back.   It came down to making something up that MIGHT have been true (not being able to pick the gun up without a signature card), and just telling the truth.  The Commander said to blame it on him – because the CSM couldn't do anything to him.  

            Finally my SSG called the CSM and told him it was a miscommunication as to who was to pick up the gun, and that was it.   There was no yelling, or arguing or anything really.  It was kind of a let down after expecting some big explosion.   My OPS NCO has determined that the CSM is bipolar.

 

            At lunch the CO, my SSG and I played a one dart throw at the dart board to see who was going to get lunch.   I lost - I got lunch for everyone.  I'll need to practice more before lunch tomorrow.

 

            Other than the CSM sparks this morning, it was quiet… which is good.  No booms, no bangs, no bombs.  But there WAS a tiny bit of rain.

Day 89 / Feb 26

Day 89 / Feb 26

 

A quiet day until tonight when there was a very loud explosion.  We all kinda looked around and debated what it was.   It was too loud to be outgoing (but from the right direction) and too loud to be incoming (unless it was a very large round).  After a short discussion we guessed that it was either an IED or a VBIED.   So, after placing our bets (figuratively), we called up and found out that it was the EOD team blowing up an IED outside the FOB.  So, we were right.

 

Our patrol made the run to wherever it was going and back without incident.  They said it was eerily quiet on the streets with very light traffic and people on the road.   I suspect it is because of all the recent sectarian violence after the mosque explosion.  I just hope it stays quiet for us even if it isn't for the rest of Iraq.     

Day 88 / Feb 25

Day 88 / Feb 25

            The short blackout was lifted today.  One of the buddies of one of the Soldiers from the last Blackout committed suicide.   It is indeed a sad time for those in that company and that battalion.  It is too bad that someone takes the easy out over the hard high road.   I mean, I understand grief and pain, and I'm sure everyone has thought about it from time to time but to actually do it is one step too far.  Now, that unit has four less Soldiers rather than three and four families are destroyed.  Three died serving their country, the fourth died from being weak of spirit and personal courage.   It is a sad truth.

            Nothing unusual to report.  I do keep getting discouraging remarks regarding my count of "number of indirect fire attacks," "number of blackouts," "days since last indirect fire," and "days since last blackout."   Apparently some people think its jixing them.

            Got some more mail today.  I got a pillow from my mom (thanks), and a general assortment of candy and stuff from her too.   Mail is always good, even if its just a card or letter.

 

Day 87 / Feb 24

Day 87 / Feb 24

 

            Still under blackout.  I haven't heard what the delay is yet – probably having trouble reaching the families.

            This is a particularly bad time for everyone to be unable to call or email back home because of the increased news on TV regarding the civil war and increased violence here.  

 

The Sunnis and the Shiites have been killing each other for longer than you can imagine and I suspect they will continue to do so, with or without us.   Maybe we should just move up north, help the Kurds establish Kurdistan, build them up and leave.  We can let the Sunnis and the Shiites figure out who is right on their own.

            At this point, regardless of when we leave, the world will only see that we caused trouble, got people killed, and still don't have anything to show for it.   It's not true, but that is what the world will see.  We have built schools, rebuilt their infrastructure, we removed a savage dictator and we gave them all the pieces of the puzzle for peace and democracy and they have so far refused them.   Maybe I'm just disgruntled today.

 

            All patrols have been shut down for the time being.

           

I hear on the news all the bad things going on in the city that is nearby (Baqubah), but here on the FOB, we are still in regular uniform – we haven't upgraded to IBAS which would indicate an increased threat level.   Outside the country is going to hell, people getting shot on the street, kidnapped, mortared and other things, but here, it is quiet.  I just hope this doesn't bring the heat on us later on.   Personally, I hope we say, "Hey, you all want to kill each other.  Go ahead, but we're out of here.  This isn't a war on terrorism, this is a religious war and it's not ours to fight."   But, again, that's not for me to decide.  We are still doing good things here for the Iraqi people.

 

Ok, back to the crazy cartoon issue.  Recent news indicates that not only have offers of $1,000,000 (and a new car!) for the killing of the cartoonists been made, but also accepted!   This is absolutely crazy, still.  This mentality that everything must be avenged by death is what makes it virtually impossible to stop them from killing each other.   I wish I had a good joke to make that would incite them like a kicked ant hill, but I don't.  I think they make themselves look pretty foolish all of their own.   Like I said before, their overreaction to this cartoon just goes to validate the premise of the cartoon.  Even the head Muslin guy in India said he'd shell out some money to have the cartoonists beheaded.

 

Blackout is over again.  In the end, three of our Brigade's Soldiers were killed.   Before the blackout was over, the incident was on the news.  You have to love the information age.

 

Blackout on again.  More tofollow.

Day 86 / Feb 23

DAY 86 / FEB 23

            I woke up still under the blackout restrictions and so, didn't have a whole lot to do.   The weather is nice.  Today it was in the 70s and felt good outside.  For some reason, the other people in my office don't like the warmth so much and so keep the AC on more than I'd like.   Well, it does get me out of the office more often.

            Its too quiet here… I have some songs on my computer, but those only provide a temporary oasis from the ambient noises – the helicopters, the UAV buzz, the 24 hour semi-roar of the generators that power everything.   I miss the sounds of home – the birds in the morning, the dogs barking, the cars going by on the highway, the TV in the background not playing anything in particular, just whatever is on.   The sounds of people moving in the house, upstairs, in the kitchen, and everywhere else.  It's lonely here with all these people.   You aren't alone, but then again, there is no one that is really a friend, no one to talk to.  Ok, if things get real bad, there are the "combat stress" people, but that's not what I mean.   Its like being at work ALL the time.  I guess that's what it is really, at work all the time.  There are no weekends, no holidays, no days off.   The only thing that separates one day from another is whether or not there is a meeting to go to.  The Army has meaning here, but the individual is meaningless.

            So, the Brigade cancelled all the patrols today due in part to the greatly increased level of activity following the attack on the Golden Dome Mosque.   As of this morning, more than 10 mosques had been hit during the ensuring riots.  The Sunnis and the Shias are waging what amounts to a religious civil war (the stupid thing is, they are the same religion – like Protestants and Baptists they just have different view points on some issues).   The question for the United States is: are we going to be involved in a civil war here?  Is it our place to choose a side?   We don't want that, we don't want to choose a side, we have done everything in our power to make this a country where democracy has a chance and religion isn't the overriding factor in who is in charge.   If this truly does escalate into a civil war, it could dramatically change our mission here.  Once it is clear that the Sunnis and the Shias will not be able to form a government together… where do we stand?

            Turned out to be another uneventful day… go figure.  Its 2213 and the blackout is still on, so… I'll probably go to be soon and hope for better in the morning.  But, I just realized that my keys are in my CHU so I have to wait until my room mate gets there first.   Damn!

 

Blackout Update:  It wasn't two that were killed in the IED attack last night – it was three.  One managed to get out of his armored track vehicle but died of his wounds while the MEDEVAC was one its way.   This is the most we've had killed since we've been here.  The insurgents used an IED to disable the vehicle, then had a second IED waiting for when someone came to help the first.   The second was not only an explosive, but also contained an accelerant like diesel to start the fire.  That brings the total for our Brigade up to five in the three months we've been here.   That isn't good, but it's about average for the casualty rate here.  At 2323 we are still under blackout.

Day 85 / Feb 22

DAY 85 / FEB 22

 

I was hoping it would be another quiet, nothing going on day.  But it was not to be.   Tonight at 2145 we went into another blackout.  I don't know why, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.  It had been 20 days since the last blackout and this brings the total number to three so far.  25 days is our record for not having a black out.  We are doing good on the mortars though – no attacks for the last 16 days.  The record for that is 16!  I guess we now are working on the most consecutive days with a mortar falling on the FOB.   Maybe I should put my IBAS on!

 

The fact that the blackout occurred now (at night for us) means that back home its still morning and that somewhere – probably back at Fort Carson – a group of people is making phone calls and getting everything for the notification.   One group of Soldiers is pulling their Class As from the hanger, where they hope to never have to take them off for this reason.  Somewhere else, a volunteer team is making the necessary calls to round up the people who will be on the "CARE" team.   They will all drive up to the home of someone who, when they woke up this morning, was very happy and content even though her or his Soldier was in Iraq because they were ok.   Its more likely than not a very young wife, maybe having only been in the Army for a year or two – and this is probably the first time away from her husband.  Her whole life is about to change.   They will walk up to her door and, for her sake, I hope she doesn't notice.  I hope she doesn't hear the vehicles pull up, that she doesn't go to the window full of dread, and see the one thing that she never wants to see.   Some know what it means when the Soldiers walk up to the door all dressed up, some don't.  Some hope its not what they THINK it is.   But, this time it is.  Her neighbors will all see, and they will know, and they will feel sorry for her.  But they will also be grateful that its not them.   Deep inside they will breath a sigh of relief that the cruel, cold hand of death has passed once again over their house. 

To speculate on the actual casualty would be foolish, but I'll do it anyway.  He (for he is almost guaranteed to be a he) is a young Soldier, probably E-4 or below and probably the turret gunner of an M1114.   His vehicle may have been hit by an IED, but I think its more likely an accident – a rollover, a collision with another vehicle, or his truck rolled off an embankment into the river where it sank to the bottom.   But it could have been a bomb.  There are plenty of them.  He is probably a combat arms Soldier, an infantryman, an artilleryman, a Scout.   He is probably not from our unit or even our area of operations.  I'd guess that the event occurred in the vicinity of Samarra.   Rethinking my position, I might have to give equal chance to the possibility of a bomb as opposed to an accident.  I'd have to up the "bomb or direct fire" chance because of the recent Sunni / Shia uprising that could very well escalate to a civil war.   Someone blew up the Golden Mosque (maybe in Samarra).  If it does go to civil war, I don't know where that put the United States.

 

UPDATE:  As it turns out, it was an IED that killed our Soldier.  He was not from my Battalion and it was from the Samarra area (closer to Balad though).  They were stopped, recovering a vehicle that had either been damaged or broke down (more likely damaged by an IED) when a second IED went off.   It caught one of the vehicles on fire.  The gunner and commander got out, but the driver was not able to (it was a tracked vehicle).   In all two of our Soldiers were killed.  THIS is what war is.  There is no nice way to put it.

DAy 84 / FEB 21

DAY 84 / FEB 21

 

This morning I talked to a Chaplain about a situation that I hoped he could shed some light on.  Chaplains do not, ever, carry weapons.   To me, that means that a conscientious objector (CO) SHOULD be able to be a Chaplain (Conscientious Objectors are people who have the view that war in all forms is bad and that they could not kill another person for ANY reason – even in defense of themselves or others).   Anyway, it is a long process to actually get the official CO status and nowadays it means you get put out of the Army.  But, in thinking about it, you SHOULD still be able to a Chaplain.

---Unless you are OUR Chaplain.  Our BN Chaplain is a CPT who I mentioned this little scenario to and he flat out said that if he was out, and things were getting bad, he would pick up a weapon and shoot the bad guys alongside everyone else.   His opinion was that if he didn't, he might end up on TV getting his head cut off – and that would be bad for everyone.  I tend to agree.   In fact, he even told me that he WANTED to carry 9mm.  That's the kind of Chaplain I want on my patrols.

 

Other than my conversation with the Chaplain, it was a quiet day.  Nothing to speak of – meeting, the usual work (look for this, find that, do this paperwork).   Everything went smooth and still no mortars.  Now its 15 days without any booms on the FOB.

DAY 83 / FEB 20

DAY 83 / FEB 20

 

Presidents Day!  Another holiday to chalk up in the "worked on" column!   Well, I can't really say worked… but…

 

Actually it was quite busy.  I managed to arrange to bring my 7.62mm guns back to my company.   They have been sitting in the FSB for the last two weeks because they didn't have spare barrels (they had their original barrels – but machine guns are supposed to have a spare so that you can change them out).   At first they didn't want to let them go without the second barrel – which was on order – but in the end, they decided we could take them back until the barrels get in.  More firepower for the patrol.

 

I also had to track down a few last items for an inventory for the commnader.  These inventories are crazy and we do four of them a month.

 

We did have a little NVG scare.  Apparently our armorer had a less-than-efficient system for tracking where these NVGs went and when one didn't turn up where it was supposed to, that caused some trouble.   And to complicate matters, at the beginning of the month, I had CLEARLY instructed someone that when they located each piece of equipment that they should annotate where they found it.   So, I went to this person and asked about this specific set of NVGs and it turns out that, yes, he had seen it, but no, he hadn't written it down (and also please insert your favorite excuse here: too busy, too many people, etc etc).   I couldn't even argue – just had to walk away in disgust.  The set did turn up with the person who was originally signed for them, so in the end, all was ok.

 

Other than that and the usual shower, lunch, dinner and getting the paperwork ready for someones meeting today, it was a slow day.  

 

Just a word of caution – eating too many jalapenos for lunch and dinner, no matter how tasty, can cause trouble later on in the day.

DAY 82 / FEB 19

DAY  82 / FEB 19

 

Nothing exciting today.  Had a quiet Sunday.  Went to lunch and dinner.

 

I did go back to see Haji again and he didn't have a very new selection.  Ah well, what can you do?  

 

I feel I'm all out of ranting and raving today.  But, I'm sure something stupid will come up in the news again and I'll have that to bitch about soon enough.

 

In the end, a quiet day is a good day.

DAY 81 / FEB 18

DAY 81 / FEB 18

 

Nothing new today.  The showers are still broken.

 

I didn't have to go to a meeting today, so it was a nice, quiet day – which translates to a boring day.  But, what can you do?

 

In response to, "why don't I make a difference"?  Well, there isn't a lot to make a difference with, here on the FOB.   I'm sure that outside the fence, there is plenty to do, but my daily job doesn't take me there.  On the FOB, its not like I can mentor an Iraqi kid, or even really deal with them at all.   The best I can do is search out my troops and make sure that they are taken care of. 

 

And, now that you mention good ole Google Earth (you being the collective consciousness that reads this – why?   For fun?, out of boredom?, curiosity?):  GE (as its know in the "in" crowd) has all sorts of new additions from its original "satellite pictures of the world."   Now you can find Geocaches in GE (see previous post, much previous), you can see where other people have marked airplanes in flight, F16s on a flightline, Apache helicopters patrolling the deserts of Iraq.   You can see FOBs being built.  You can also gape in wonder at the sheer quantity of nuclear tests that have been conducted in the US (southwest of Area 51) that have left numerous craters in the desert.   I've seen meteorite impacts in Africa, the little itty bitty island off the coast of Alaska that is only two miles from another itty bitty island that is part of Russia (and thought maybe it'd be interesting to visit).   People have taken other aerial photos and superimposed them over the correct areas in Google Earth (if you download the right file – very easy to do) so you can see what NYC looked like before, during and after the 9/11 attacks.   I also discovered what I would call a "glitch" in GE.  First change the angle so that your point of view is as parallel to the Earths surface as possible and then zoom in on something as close as possible.   Then, only using the zoom scale, you zoom all the way out to where you are in space.  Then, you zoom all the way back in, without stopping.   As you get closer, at an angle, the view will change to a directly downward view.  Once that happens, you have "flipped" the earth and at that point you can fly around the world like in regular GE, but everything will be upside down – your point of view is upside down.   The earth is on the top of the screen and the sky below.  It's strange.  At first I thought I'd broken it.   But, I discovered that in order to fix it, all you have to do is unzoom all the way back out and then come back in.  Everything turns rightside up again.   Is this useful or in any way worthwhile?  No, not really.  But its there.

 

Today I also received some Valentines Day cards and letters from children in a school in California.  Children are funny.   The letters were about what I'd expect from a 7^th grader, full of questions, and well wishes.  But the best one was from a girl named Rocky in Manteca who asked, "Have you gotten shot yet?   If you have I am sorry,"  and, "Is it fun to be in a war or is it dangerous?" followed immediately by, "Oh yeah, just to let you know I am a girl not a boy."   The way that these thoughts are intermingled was interesting.  I responded to her questions as best I could, saying that No, I haven't been shot (I left out "yet"), and that no, its not fun and IS dangerous.   Her well-wishes were also phrased in a peculiar manner, "Well good luck in staying alive."  I suppose I should take all the good luck I can get!

 

So, that was my day.  I also managed a call of two to my wife and also some IM and maybe a little video chat here or there as well.  I again tried to call my two kids in Washington, but they were apparently "at a friend's house."   I think that's BS because I heard my daughter in the background, but its not like I can reach through the phone and take care of it.  First she says, (in whiny little bitchy voice), "Oh, he can call anytime…" and then its, "But not on Sundays" (when I HAD been calling), and now the kids are "at a friends house" on Saturday.   Hmmm, I think maybe its time to go back to "call anytime" and make the calls when its convenient for me.

Day 80 / Feb 17

DAY 80! / FEB 17

 

Another set of 10 down the drain and fast approaching 100 days.  Every day is the same, again.

 

Showers this morning were unexpected.  After the nice dialog I gave yesterday, someone had to go and change things.   And not for the better.  Remember the two "good" showers?  Well, when I got in there this morning, they were BOTH destroyed.   Like someone had taken their heads and ripped them from the wall – which they probably (not to mention any names, but I think the Georgians did it – they have a tendency to be a bit wild and violent) did, but I'll never know why.   Hopefully the people can fix them quickly.  It also looked like someone had used the shower to clean the mud off of their boots – actually like more than one of them had done that.

 

I went to my usual meeting and back to the office to catch up on some desk clean up.   So, now my desk is only moderately messy.  I considered trying to REALLY organize, but determined that that was a lost cause and quit before I started so I couldn't fail.

 

Now, I grew up in the 80s and 90s and have played my fair share of computer games, from the original pong all the way through the modern games.   The only reason I mention this is to preface the fact that I have never been motion sick from a 3D game.  When Castle Wolfenstein came out, it was notorious for making people queasy because of the way the room spun around.   Not me, I had no problem.  And all through, I've never had a problem.  Until recently, I've had TWO games make me want to throw up.   The first was one of the Harry Potter games, I felt a nauseous and quit playing – and got better.  The second is one that I just tried today and it was even worse than the HP game!   After about 5 minutes of playing, I feel like I need some cold fresh air, or I'm going to lose it.  I'm kinda concerned about that – is motion sickness something you can develop?

 

I researched the numbness is my finger and have determined that I think its just from leaving on it too much.   It pinches a nerve in the elbow and causes the numbness – guess I need to stop doing that.

 

Reading the news today, I saw that the United Nations has decided that the United States needs to close Guantanamo Bay Terrorist Prison.   Normally, I don't really care what the UN thinks and I don't really pay attention.  But, in light of the fact that we did come over HERE based largely on the fact that Iraq ignored and violated numerous UN sanctions and stuff, it seems that we might have an issue with not at least considering what it says.   Yes, I realize that the only nation in the UN with any power is the US, but we kinda look hypocritical when we go after someone for opposing a UN thing and then we turn around and oppose something else ourselves.   We either need to get out of the UN entirely, or at least attempt to pretend like we care what they say about us as much as we profess to care about what they say about everyone else.   Personally, I'd like to see us kick the UN out of NY and let them fend for themselves.

 

Speaking of foreign policy – I also think it might be time for the United States to regroup.   We need to brings our troops back from wherever they are, bring our money back from wherever it is (all that foreign aid), and then start to reorganize all of our supplies to better protect US and OUR people.   In fact, as of now, I'm running for Mayor, Governor, Senator, Representative, AND President of whatever city, state, and district YOU live in (but I'm a write-in underdog, so get the word out for me!)!   I swear that if I win any of those positions I will serve faithfully to the best of my ability and will keep all the promises I make.  So now, for my policies…

                1.  Bring home all the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guard from all non-US owned property.   If we've been there for a long time and the county can't take care of themselves by now, they've wasted our money and our support.

                                A.  The FIRST priority for our troops will be homeland security.  We will protect the borders with our Soldiers, our waters with our Sailors, or skies with the Airmen, and everything else with the Marines (wherever we need them).

                                B.   We won't send anyone else out to fight someone else's war.  NOTE:  I don't think that we are doing the wrong thing in Iraq and I fully support what we are doing and how we are doing it!   I would just do it differently.

                                C.  Once we have secured our borders and country, we can assist our allies in doing the same with theirs.

                                D.  We will NOT assist countries either militarily or financially who don't want us to, or who bad-mouth America and Americans all the time.  If they don't like us, why are we helping them?

                                E.  We WILL finish multiple projects concerning national defense such as the ICBM interceptor missiles and maybe space based lasers.

                                F.  When we determine that we MUST go to war in order to protect our society and people, we will REALLY go to WAR.  There won't be any half-assed effort.   And we will finish the job quickly and thoroughly.

                                                (1).  We will have clearly defined objectives that, once complete, will mean we can go home.

                                                (2).  Our forces will attack with overwhelming force and numbers with a speed and audacity reminiscent of Patton and McArthur.  In war, Soldiers die, but in "Peace Keeping," more Soldiers die.

                                                (3).  Any countries we go to war with will, regrettably, suffer collateral damage.

                                G.  We will NOT reinstate a draft and will maintain an all volunteer Army.  However, we will introduce certain incentives to join the military or serve the public in other ways.

                                                (1).  Reduce or eliminate federal taxes for those in the military or in public service.

                                                (2).  More to come.

                2.  Eliminate all foreign aid (only temporarily).   Once we regroup and rebudget it all, we can get the correct amount of money to the people who really need it in the world and won't just be handing out cash to countries X and Y because "that's how we've been doing it so far."

                3.  Flat tax across the board.   After we determine how much we need to run the country, we set the tax level the amount where everyone pays x% of what they make.  Period.   No discounts for this or that or the other thing.  No itemizing.  No cheating, no screwing over the little people who can't afford CPAs and lawyers to do their taxes.

                4.  Same deal for business tax.   No more big companies weaseling out of taxes because they have more money to buy the right people.

                5.  We will go back to when the government followed the Constitution instead of making its own rules.

                                A.  Spying on your own people is illegal without due process.

                                B.  Holding your own people in jail without a trial or representation indefinitely is also illegal – no matter what you use to justify it.  The ends do not justify the means.

6.  As with all government facilities, the White House offices are for business purposes only.

7.  I don't need to take money from wealthy lobbyists or any of those people because all of my votes are write-ins.   So, I'm not beholden to anyone.

8.  I didn't go to Harvard or Yale and I don't belong to any Secret Societies.

9.  Yes, I have skeletons, but no more or less than anyone else in an elected position.

10.  The Bill of Rights is paramount to the security and welfare of our Nation.

                A.   Freedom of Speech and Religion will be enforced.  Make all the stupid cartoons you want and don't worry about someone firebombing your house.

                B.   Right to Bear Arms will also be reinstated.  Nationwide.  States can make their own laws as to HOW you can carry, but no whether you CAN carry. Lethal force is authorized to protect your property or the life of yourself or someone else as a first resort.   You don't have to run away first.

                C.   No searching and seizing without a warrant.  No secret jails.

                11.  I think we should go back to the Presidential election system where the two people with the most votes for President became President and Vice President regardless of which party they were in.

 

Oh, and if I get elected as a Senator, I promise to only serve one term before retiring and collecting full pay for the rest of my life while I live in the country, ride horses, play baseball, and spend time with my family.                 I promise not to get power hungry.

 

It think that's enough for a good start!

 

Don't forget to write me in FOR EVERY POSITION on your next ballot!

Day 79 / FEB 16

DAY 79 / FEB 16

            Had my second close call with being late this week.  I woke up at 8:16 for an 8:30 appointment.  Not good, but I still managed to snag a mug of coffee before getting there.  It's a good thing there is nothing to prepare for these meetings.

            I've been spending some time with Google Earth.  And I must say that it's a fun little program and is becoming more and more useful everyday.   I already mentioned its ability to assist with Geocaching, but today I learned that it can also find distances between here and there.  And, it also cleared up the confusion of why we flew from Colorado to Newfoundland to Ireland to Kuwait.   I always thought it was a strange route, but looking at it (after determining I was exactly 7046.3 miles from home) I noticed that the most direct path (that is not THROUGH the Earth) goes over the top of the world to get to here.   Interesting. 

            Also on google earth, I checked out Area 51 (with all the aliens and UFO lore), the nuclear bomb site in Nevada (there are a lot more bomb craters from tests than I would have figured – way more!).   You can find low flying helicopters and airplanes near airports.  I also even found a meteorite impact crater in Saudi Arabia (I think).  

            Also new today, while wandering the numerous, mostly useless links on the Army Knowledge Online (AKO) site, I discovered a language program.   They have a bunch of languages to choose from and so, just to give it a whirl, I picked Arabic and started the first course.  Its actually MUCH better than I thought it would be and I'm actually picking up how to read the language as well as understand it spoken.   There is a section for SPEAKING it as well, but there are too many people around for that.  This is really a good way to learn a foreign language.   There is no "(this word in english) = (this word in Arabic)".  Its more of an intuitive learning system, like you learned English when you were a kid.   For example:  The first page shows four basic pictures (a cat, a dog, a boy, a girl).  The speaker plays the Arabic (and shows how it looks) word for one of them.   In the beginning, you more or less guess as to which is which.  So, after the first set, you get an idea about which is which.   The next page has four basic pictures as well, but it will also have another object in the picture (a cat and a car, a boy and a girl, a dog and a man…) and so, with a little process of elimination, you can deduce what pictures it isn't and which it could be by the first four words you learned.   It keeps on building like that, adding a small element to what you already know as it goes along.  I'm only on the second lesson – taking it slow so I can understand it better – but I already feel a smidgen of knowledge sticking with me.   If the rest of the courses are like this, I could learn a lot this way.  The problem is that with my internet as slow as it is, it takes about 10 minutes to load one part of one lesson.   Each lesson has about 5-10 parts.  So, you can see that it is very time consuming in the waiting department.  But still worth it.

           

            Every day I am amazed at the level of waste in the Army and I'm sure the government as a whole.   I think that I should get out and make something stupid (like a computer circuit card from the 70s) that breaks a lot and costs $25k each and then sell it to the Army.   I know they'll buy it because they I've seen them do it!  Another example:  we have a satellite thingy (OPSEC term) that costs about $445,000 for the satellite thingy AND the humvee it comes on.   There is a very important part on this satellite thingy that has a tendancy to overheat and kill itself.  Guess how much the PART is?   If you guessed anything less than the cost of the whole system as a whole – you're wrong.  The part costs $450,000 BY ITSELF!  I guess you could say that they sold us "said part" and included the rest of the system and the humvee as a bonus!   A one-time-only bonus.  When the part breaks, we pay that much to get a new one!  Crazy!!   Ok, not enough… how about the little flying plane that takes pictures.  First, lets take a REAL plane, that holds REAL people and could hold the same stuff that makes these fly on their own – it would cost about $200,000 for a really good one.   These things that the Army buys cost $550,000! Each!  And, they have a tendency to crash.  Since they've had them (for about a year), we've crashed between 3-10 (not me personally, but people around here who have them).   They found most of them.  Most.  Somewhere out there is a $500,000 plane just sitting in the elements, rusting.

            So, like I said, its time to make something that will break easy and is very expensive and sell it to the Army (or maybe just the Department of Defense in general).   Maybe I'll take a truck, fill it with electronics from Radio Shack, give it a serious sounding, letter-number combination name, and offer it up for $1,000,000,000.   I know they'll buy because we already own a couple.

            Anyway, enough.  The rest of the day was uneventful – no bombs, or booms or anything falling from the sky except a few drops of rain.   Oh and the highlight of the day was lasagne!  Whoo hoo!  A decent dinner for once!

            And also, we finally made it back into the double digits of days since we were mortared last!

            Milestones… I have to make more and celebrate them all.

 

            PS.  I finished "Deception Point" yesterday.   It was decent.  Kind got a little far fetched at the end; and I don't know about the author's claim that ALL of the technology in the book is real… but I can't prove otherwise.   I have the most trouble with the government making a submarine that can go as deep as they claim it does in the book.  Oh and the rifles that shoot "snow bullets" or overly powerful waterguns.  

            I plan on starting the new Stephen King book – "Cell" – very soon.

Day 78 / FEB 15

Day 78 / Feb 15

            This morning was the typical waking up process: flop out of bed and stumble to the shower.   I don't think I've even fully explained the shower situation, but I'll try.  The showers are located about 45-60 feet from my CHU in an elevated building about 30 feet long and 9 feet wide.   Once here, I quickly discovered that, although there are six stalls in this shower building, only two are 90% functional.  The floor used to be a linoleum that was peeling up and there was no thought put into actually draining water off the floor.   There are two drains on the floor which, for some reason, sit HIGHER than the rest of the floor, meaning that any water near the drain runs away from it.   Within the past few days, they have improved the shower facility by removing the linoleum and adding a black rubber matting.  The drains are still higher than the rest of the floor.   Out of the six shower stalls available, only two work well enough to comfortably use, but by just looking at them, you might think that four out of the six were good to go.   Two of the bad stalls have nozzles that have no way of attaching to the pole, so if you use those, you just hold the nozzle while you shower – possible, but not all that great.  One of the bad ones has a slot for the nozzle but it is VERY loose and if you turn the pressure on too high, it pushes itself up, spraying the entire shower building with water.  I found this one out the hard way when the shower was full, except for that one stall.   I adjusted the pressure just right so that the nozzle stayed upright – not flopped down and not taking off into the sky.  But, I adjusted it while I was NOT standing in it.   Once I stepped inside, the reduced distance from the shower nozzle to my head was sufficient to send the shower head rocketing upwards, dowsing everyone before I could grab it and bring it under control.   The last screwed up stall has a nozzle and holder, but the holder refuses to stay up – it continually slides down the pipe to rest at about waist height.

            Another shower issue comes with the water temperature.  The water in the heater is very hot, set intentionally so because of the winter months (so says the sign).  The water pressure and temperature in the shower are controlled by one lever that goes up and down (for pressure) and left and right (for temperature).   The total range of the lever left and right is about 95 degrees.  The center point is just about right for water temperature.   Five degrees to either side of center gives you ice water, or boiling shrimp water.  This is ok, as long as you are careful.  Once you have the shower running and you step in, you realize why you have to be careful very quickly.   The shower nozzle sticks out from the wall about 8-10 inches – just enough to get under it.  The lever for the temperature and pressure sticks out about 4-6 inches.   If you are not extremely careful, when you are moving in the shower to get clean you can very easily knock the level with your back to one side or the other.   In return you receive either a super cold jet of water that makes you suck in your breath because its so cold, or a super hot scalding stream of water that makes you throw yourself into the stall wall or completely out of the stall.   That is the shower situation. 

 

            After my morning shower, I slipped in a quick mini-IM with my wife and then poured a cup of coffee before going to the patrol meeting.   I usually drive to the meeting because if I were to walk, it would take longer to walk there and back than it would to actually have the meeting.  And I'm lazy.

 

We are expected to brief our patrol plans at least 48 hours in advance of the patrol.  This includes who is going, where they are going, when they are going (by the hour), etc etc etc.  It wouldn't be a big deal, except that everyone wants to jump on the patrol after you brief it.   Usually the biggest offenders are the people in charge who don't feel any compulsion to follow their own rules.

 

The weather today was fair in the morning and shifted to a rain and then a hail in the late morning.   The hail was approximately marble size.  One the helicopter pad, a helicopter was idling very fast (emitting a deep throbbing tone that resonated in a bad way) for about 45 minutes before the weather cleared enough for it to take off.   Its idle made it sound like it was on the verge of taking off the entire time.  It was not super loud but it was very annoying.

 

One of the people I share an office with has a CD player.  That's great, people listen to music all the time.   The problem is, he likes to play it out loud, without headphones.  Really, its not a problem, but after awhile it gets annoying.   His music isn't exactly what I listen to on a regular basis – it's the rough equivalent of elevator music.  Even though he plays it when he's here, its not a big deal.   I am fully capable of enduring his music while he's here.  But when he leaves, he leaves the music on!  He knows he's going out, he knows he's going to be gone awhile and apparently he thinks we all want to listen to his music while he's gone!   Personally, I think its pretty rude to just leave it blaring and walk away – so I turn it off.

 

My wife sent my a cool email today (or last night) having to do with a maze that tests the steadiness of your hands.   I thought I had a pretty steady mouse hand – after all the hours I spent playing computer games, it should be very strong.  But, try as I might, I could never get to the fourth and final level!   The third always stopped me!  I'll put the link here so others can try if they want – but I warn you, its not for the faint of heart (or those prone to heart attacks!  I never thought a maze on a computer screen could produce such an adrenaline charged reaction.  So, pay attention, don't hit the walls and remember the hint about the sound.  MAZE LINK - http://www.winterrowd.com/maze.swf 

 

Had lunch – Easy Mac and Cheese – avoided the new mud and all that crap!

 

I was also informed today by my Commander that I was to inspect some of the leadership under me tomorrow for dirty weapons.   Apparently he checked their weapons today and discovered that they were dirty as hell!  That's bad leadership.   So, he told them to have them clean.  And he told me to check them tomorrow and if they WEREN'T clean to use my imagination to teach them the importance of a clean weapon.   I can't wait.  On one hand, I want to warn them of the impending doom.  On the other, some people just need to learn things through experience.   We'll see how they do tomorrow.

 

I plan I getting to my CHU around 2200 tonight.   It'll be an early bedtime.  I'm a bit tired.

Brb

Brb

DAY 74 / FEB 11

Day 74 / FEB 11

Another day done and gone and what little do I have to show for it? An unshaven face, droopy eyelids and confirmation that you actually CAN break a glass with just your voice. How did these fantastic revelations come about you might ask? Well, let's start at the beginning.

I went to bed last night fully intending on getting up at 0630 to go for a run before taking a shower at 0730 and then going to my meeting at 0830. The meeting was somewhat unusual in that I was supposed to be briefing the LTC on what we (as a company) needed to report to him regarding our network for the the "Commander's Update." How in the hell that in any way relates to my job, I don't know. But since BN has seen fit to hold maintenance meetings with the Commanders, I guess its only fair that I do the Commanders Update. Anyhow, back to the day. My alarm went off as it should. I promptly turned it off (fully intending of course to get up soon and go for a run). I also realized that it was possible that I might NOT actually get up for the run, but instead sleep until 0730 and then take a shower. To accommodate this contingency, I set a second alarm, on my watch (backup systems are very necessary with me). So, shortly after I turned the first alarm off at 0630, I waited patiently in a half snooze for the second alarm went off. When it seemed like it might be about time for it to go off, I decided to check how long I had left to snooze. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that it was not 0635, or even 0730, but it was actually 0815 – bad news for my "shower and meeting" plan. Quickly assessing that I was running a teensy bit late for my important (to someone) meeting, I jumped out of bed and threw my uniform on and raced out the door. I did manage to pour myself one quick cup of coffee before jumping in my truck and speeding (at the FOB authorized maximum) of 5mph to the BN HQ where I slipped in just before the clock struck 0830. Go me. I hate not taking a shower in the morning, I never fully wake up – for instance, even now, I'm very tired (but it is 1230 at night).

I received some very exciting news from my wife this morning (and if you feel you really must know, and think you could be close enough to find out – just ask someone who you think might know what it is). It involved an old story with a jail, a fence, and an escapee at its core. But that's all I'm going to say about that. Needless to say, it was and IS very exciting news and it's very good news. As it turns out, escaping from jail is a Class B felony and carries a possible 10 year sentence – plus the original sentence that whoever was going to jail for anyway. So, all day, I scoured the news channels and papers searching for more information. I didn't get much, but I set up google alerts and I hope something will come in tonight.

Now, I am simply passing the time, as I have been for the last few hours. But they have been productive hours (except for that one hour where I played an older video game while eating sourpatch kids in a very hot room and nearly threw up – I don't know which factors were intermingling to cause the ickiness, but I've eliminated all of them for the time being; I'm sure it wasn't the sourpatch because I managed to finish off the bad successfully). I learned that pennies in your engine won't break it, that sugar won't stall your engine, that bleach is bad for the fuel tank (and worse for the engine when put in the oil), that drain cleaner does nothing to engines, that a fire helicopter CANNOT pick up scuba divers, that vacuums CANNOT turn into self-igniting jet engines, that there really are some smells you just can't get out of a car, and that you cannot blow up a car by shooting the gas tank (except with tracers and some very lucky shots). Also that you CAN shatter a lead-crystal glass with just the right pitch and tone and power in a voice. All in all, a very productive evening. Oh, and I also learned that if you have a leak in a radiator coming home from the grocery store, you can use a raw egg to make a temporary seal. All of the above are true, proven realities. Also, a rolling stone DOES NOT gather (as in grow) moss – but it may have a piece or two stick to it occasionally. What else could I hope to learn in one or two hours?

So, what about you? Any burning questions? How hot is it here? (Highs in the 50s or 60s today). How cold does it get at night? (40s ish). Is it very dry? (not really, and I'm glad I don't have to swim to work anymore). Was that other person right about the book I am reading? (Yes, it is "Deception Point" by Dan Brown – which, BTW **I** have a question about – does the poor guy in the beginning who gets thrown out of the helicopter with his dogs ever come into play?) Is my desk a mess? (yes. – I think its an inherited trait). Why are there kissing frogs on my desk? (Hey! How did you know about the kissing frogs?!)

If I missed any, ask and I'll answer – but maybe not truthfully, or correctly. With OPSEC being what it is, I don't even know if what I know is true anymore and if I did, I couldn't talk about it anyway. I always thought that maybe a little counter-intelligence or false intelligence would be helpful, but they aren't very keen on that either. But, like I said, ask away…

Now, it's 12:41 am, and I've rambled long enough. For now.

Hey look at that, we're about 3/4 of the way to 100 days! Whoo hoo!